Sunday, January 25, 2009

Ice Age Preparedness: Improvision

On Saturday we got some snow, 1 or 2 inches. We had a slight thaw beforehand, which resulted in ice formation, not a fun combination. Truth be told if I had to choose I would actually prefer the snow and cold to a day of it being a little warmer. As much as I loathe the cold having a sheet of ice covering everything is worse. When it is really cold and snows the snow tends to be the light and fluffy kind (yes there are different kinds of snow, many), this makes it much easier to shovel. The drawback is that it blows, this can be a nuisance in town but in the farmland, which takes up the majority of the midwest, it can be deadly because there is nothing to break the wind and there are hundreds of acres of snow.

I had to go into work today, I was supposed to be doing a run but since my cultures did not all grow I had to start over and just inoculated today instead. I procrastinated all day like usual when I am not on a time schedule and so lost some opportunity to clean my car off while the sun was out and possibly could have helped. I love Oldsie's dark color for that very reason, when the paint is exposed the sun hits it and warms the interior, not a whole lot in the winter but sometimes enough to soften the ice. Kinda sucks in the summer but all cars get hot then and mine doesn't get a whole lot hotter than the light colored ones. But I digress, between us having that mini-thaw and the new snow and the sunny day water got in my car's door and froze. I decided to share with you all how one such as myself deals with such a problem in case the ice age becomes more widespread and permanent (plus my intelligence/competence is being questioned after my last couple posts):

The neighbor was totally staring at me, like he has never seen someone perch a digital camera on top of the adjacent car and record ones self complaining about how horribly cold it is and such. He missed my awesome car opening trick so you don't get to see him standing there in awe of my brilliance. I wonder if it were his car, probably not since he took the bus to Cub Foods and who in their right mind would go shopping on a Sunday night with the bus, Sunday has the most pitiful schedule!

Oh and one last tips, never leave your car door opener in your car, and coat drawstrings double as an extra holder for things like car door openers and spray bottles of alcohol. Also carrying a spray bottle of isopropanol to the pharmacy while dying of the plague so as not to spread said plague will result in pharmacy techs who already thought you were amusing falling in love with you and helping you plot against your doctor giving you even better service (my pharmacy has good service to begin with). I have not had to take out and swipe my ID since November. The only reason I have to wait is because I want my favorite tech and will do the hover thing until she is free. I get to see her tomorrow, though it will just be a stopping by to say hi most likely since this visit probably won't result in a script but a referral, unless there is a wrist drug that won't screw me up...

OK I'd best get to work on preparing for my visit with Doc tomorrow, I told my lovely nurse to try and make it so he is complacent but she is so a double agent! And by that I mean she has my real best interest at heart and so totally sides with him when I try to get sneaky talk him into stuff and she often successfully tries to be the voice of reason. But I am so going to be super compliant (kinda, define compliant...) and brag about how I didn't down a bag of candy to gain weight before the visit (because I ran out, though brag worthy is that I could have bought more but chose not to). I will probably post about the visit, either way do not worry since as I have said before, my issues suck but they definitely are not life threatening or anything like that. Either way it should be fun, I hate being sickly but I don't get out much and definitely enjoy getting to see Medical Team Karen, they are the best!

7 comments:

The hot water trick can backfire in many ways, not limited to my spilling it all over myself and/or the car, missing the spot that needs it, or given these temps it could just join the ice fun and make it even worse. My luck it would be a combo of all of the above. I don't think that I have dented the door at this point and it is a '94 oldsmobile with health problems so I'm not too concerned about dings and such, lol.

But Ed, bacteria can't answer phones! As it was I am definitely pushing it with how late I got in, had I not gone at all I would have had to start the whole sequence over again and waste time and money I do not have. Thanks =).

i just use a long extension cord and a blow dryer when we had an ice storm once. i had several inches over my whole car and it took forEVER but it did work!. i would also get the melt the ice washer fluid so IT can do the work on the windsheild after you get inside, that is :)

Anon: Thanks, those techniques are not as effective at near or below 0°F, the water can actually cool off and freeze before it melts the ice. I have encountered frozen wiper fluid plenty of times, gotta make sure the temps are compatible. Also having a puddle of water that becomes a puddle of ice right by your door is not the safest situation, especially if you have bad joints like I do.

Nonna: My ice removal technique for the body of the car is more along the lines of what a hammer is normally used for, I love having an old piece of crap car I don't have to worry about scratching and dinging! I would never consider taking a hair dryer to it (seriously a couple inches, can't see it being possible to get through that much with a hair dryer...). We used a heat gun/hair dryer when my key hole got frozen but definitely not to clear the car of ice. Too much time and energy. I've seen too many people have deicer or trying to melt it with fluids make it worse to consider that option, lol.

In Memory

About Me

Formerly I was a deli clerk, after four years of that I retired. Fresh out of college I got in my trusty oldsmobile and drove west to start my new life as a graduate student. This blog will chronicle my crazy antics among other things as I crawl towards the light at the end of the tunnel that is grad school.